READING SUCCESS A T H O M E

Helpful Tips for Parents

Copyright © 2015 School District No. 73 (Kamloops/Thompson)

Revised June 2016

Written by Fiona Clare Literacy Outreach Coordinator, Literacy in Kamloops

With support from Lorraine Brookes, Dianne Dean, Tricia Persad, Deanna Steptoe School District No. 73 Primary Literacy Resource Team And my mentor Debbie Schiller

Design and typesetting by Carlo Sia Henry Grube Education Centre Print Shop

This booklet was inspired by the One to One Children’s Literacy Program and parents who want to know.

In creating this booklet, we have adapted materials and quoted from various publications. We have made every effort to obtain permission to reproduce material.

This booklet may be copied and distributed freely, but may not be altered in any way and may not be sold for a profit.

Contact: literacyinkamloops@gmail.com

Funded by the Forest Legacy Foundation and Raise-a-Reader

School District No. 73(Kamloops/Thompson)

LinKLiteracy in Kamloops

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Why is reading important?

The ability to read is an important key to success in school and in life. Everyday we need to make sense of information that is all around us.

We read to:

■ learn about our world and the things that interest us

■ find a good job and keep it

■ communicate with family, friends and others

■ enjoy the pleasure of a good story

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How can I help my child become a life-long reader?

Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.

~Emilie Buchwald

■ Make reading FUN – that’s how children learn naturally

■ Read together every day – make it a positive time

■ Find books your child is interested in – comics and fun books are okay

■ Let your child see you reading – you are the role model

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More reading activities:

■ Play board and card games that are fun and not too hard

• Commit to “family game night” once a week or once a month

■ Listen to recorded books, especially on long car rides – free at the library

• Listening to stories helps kids “draw pictures in their minds”

■ Play word games or guessing games, like “I Spy”

Help your child “read the world” through magazines, newspapers, recipes, photo albums, shopping lists, traffic signs, trading cards…

4

How do I help my child choose “Just Right” books?

Good questions for your child to ask are:

■ Am I interested in the book?

■ Do I understand what the book is about?

■ Do I know most of the words, or is it too hard for me?

I like to choose my own books because I like to read about things that interest me.

Hearing my favourite book over and over again helps me memorize words.

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For fi ction/storybooks

■ What do you think is happening?

■ What might happen next?

For non-fi ction/fact books

■ What do you already know about this?

■ What do you wonder about this?

After you have read the book, ask “What did you learn?” Share what you learned too. Make it a real conversation, not a quiz.

How do we warm up the book together?

Before you start reading, look at the cover, say the title and talk about the main idea of the book. Turn to a few pages and talk about the pictures, saying some of the words your child will read. Ask questions that will help your child to predict and understand the story.

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What do I do when my child isn’t a confident reader?

These strategies will help your child relax and enjoy the book more. Find books that are easy for your child to read. Success leads to confidence!

After you’ve warmed up the book, you can:

■ First read the book to your child

• This is not cheating, it is setting them up for success.

■ Read together at the same time

• Your child doesn’t have to worry about sounding out the hard words, because you are reading them together.

■ Echo read - You read a passage, then your child reads the same passage

• Your child will follow your lead of reading smoothly with good expression, stopping at periods and pausing at commas.

Memorizing is part of the process!

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What do I do if my child makes a mistake?

Children need to use a number of “in the head” or thinking strategies while they read (see page 8). Some children need a little extra time to put it all together. As you listen to them, ignore small mistakes that still make sense (house for home, bike for bicycle). Too many interruptions chip away at a child’s confidence. Instead of coming to the rescue, try to… Pause ~ Prompt ~ Praise

If your child makes a mistake and it does NOT make sense…

PAUSE to give them time to self-correct or solve the problem without help.

If your child keeps reading without self-correcting, or can’t come up with the right word…

PROMPT by asking a question. For example, the text reads, “The boy rode the horse.”

Your child reads, “The boy rode the house.” Ask: Does that make sense?

Your child reads, “The boy rided the horse.” Ask: Does that sound right? Is that the way we talk?

Your child reads, “The boy roped the horse.” Ask: Does that look right? Do the letters match the sounds in the word?

PRAISE your child for self-correcting, reading smoothly and for sharing time with you.

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If your child still needs help to figure out a word, suggest one of these strategies:

What can I do if my child still can’t read a word?

Images 1-6 used with permission from Catching Readers Before They Fall, Pat Johnson & Katie Keier, 2010.

1. Look at the picture for clues

2. Think about what makes sense

3. Go back and reread

4. Look at the letter clues

5. Find word parts or chunks you know

6. Skip the word, read on, then go back. Now what makes sense?

7. Flip the letter sound

at/ate

catin

C C

go

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Phonics is the relationship between letters and the sounds they make. Beginning readers need lots of practice decoding, and sounding out words in easy books. They learn to see patterns in words like cake, bake, make and rake. Once they know common word patterns, they can easily see them in new words.

When children spend too much time trying to sound out words (even those that can’t be sounded out), encourage them to think more about meaning, and what word would make sense. When children rely too much on the pictures in a book and not the text, prompt them to look more closely at whether the word matches what is printed on the page.

The goal is for children to use a variety of word solving strategies that will help them read fluently, with good comprehension and enjoyment.

What about Phonics?

40 to 50% of English language words cannot be sounded out

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How do I check that my child understands what’s been read?

During and after reading, make sure your child understands the story.

Talk about what is happening in the book…

Ask: ■ What do you think is going to happen next? ■ What would you have done in this situation? ■ Do you know what this word means? ■ What did you learn?

Share your thoughts and opinions too!

We read for meaning, not perfection

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Confidence is the key to success!

Remember…

■ The best book is one your child WANTS to read

■ It’s okay to read favourite books over and over again

■ Learning to read takes practice - be patient

■ Mistakes are opportunities for learning

■ Relax, enjoy this time together and HAVE FUN!

Mistakes are meant to be teachers, not undertakers.

~Ralph Klein

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A final reminder…

When your child makes a mistake…

Pause

When they still can’t read the word…

Prompt

And remember, always…

Praise!

For trying hard, for reading smoothly, for self-correcting, for sharing time with you and for being a great kid.

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Notes